China alert: new Covid-19 outbreak complicates footwear exports

Although for a year China had controlled the spread of the pandemic, since the end of May the alerts have returned due to the new source of infections located in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province.

The origin was the appearance of the Indian Delta coronavirus strain, which is highly transmissible and presumably more aggressive.

Guangzhou authorities ordered a massive test on its more than 15 million inhabitants, and established strict isolation and confinement measures, as well as blockades in contact areas. For non-compliance with the rules, heavy fines, arrests and legal actions were imposed against the offenders.

Guangdong is one of the largest shoe producing poles in the country, where the cities of Guangzhou, Dongguan, Shenzhen and Foshan.

The new epidemiological situation with mobility and isolation restrictions is once again affecting manufacturing activity, footwear production, and consequently exports.

One of the main destinations of the dispatches are the brands and retailers in the United States, which upon hearing the news, are actively working to specify the scope of the situation and take the corresponding forecasts.

In this regard, the FDRA -Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America- the representative entity of the producer and commercial sector of the country, informed its associates about the slowdown in shipments from China, with port closures and suspended maritime services.

According to the organization, this unforeseen event occurs at a time when US brands and companies were rebuilding their stocks after the pandemic. The expectations are that the health crisis will be overcome in the short term and that US importers will be able to receive seasonal footwear for the next new school year.

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